In the vibrant, tumultuous West-African nation of Nigeria -- the most populous country on the continent -- indulgent wealth exists side by side with devastating poverty, interreligious conflicts and political unrest in some regions make every day unsure, and pervasive corruption gives the majority of non-corrupt Nigerians an international p.r. black eye...but that is so far from the whole story.

Nigerians are fervently proud of their 250 ethnic groups, their literary titans and their thriving industry of home-grown film — Nollywood.

Nigerian music is extraordinarily strong. Just bringing Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti forward would have been enough, but Nigeria offers us more and more and more.